The Zone Runner
by TheLord'sDog
Summary: Sonic's dies at the moment of Knothole's greatest victory. The group fractures and an exiled Tails has become a 'Zone Runner'; a shadowy vigilante, hitman and bounty hunter hired to remove high level threats, until his latest target forces him to confront his past. Rated T due to themes
1. A Repeating Nightmare'

**Zone Runner**

**Authors Note: This dear internet is the first story that I've ever had the nerve to put on here so I beg leniency in criticism. It is my take on the generic 'Tail's suffers a trauma and changes into X several years in the future' plot line. However, unlike many that I've seen Tails does not become angry or wild because I don't see how an introverted worrier can flip that way. Instead this plot revolves around Tails becoming melancholic and misanthropic. He has been exiled and now survives as a bounty hunter of sorts.**

**The universe is roughly a modified version of the comics, however, it's been years since I read them and I'm rusty on the lore. The event at the start is set a few years into the future, Tails is 13. The main story is set ten years after that.**

**Although it probably shares themes with other stories (are you shocked? there are something like 30,000+ Sonic stories on here and only a finite amount of plot devices in the world). I do not intend to actively copy anyone's ideas, although I cannot be 100% sure on that as I haven't read everything (I have a life!) so if anyone does see plagiarism in this I would kindly ask them to bring it to my attention.**

**The story has various borrowings from cyberpunk dystopia elements, film noir elements and various action movie tropes. The title is an obvious steal from 1982s 'Blade Runner' based off 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' by Philip K Dick**

**Rating: I have marked it M. It will contain adult themes, some alcohol and sex references but nothing graphic. There is also moderate violence including the use of firearms.**

**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own any of the Sonic the hedgehog characters they belong to SEGA, all the rest are half-arsed creations of my own.**

**Chapter 1- 'a repeating nightmare'**

The Tornado was circling at high altitude above the planet Mobius. Over the radio came the sounds of combat as G.U.N and Freedom fighter units engaged and distracted Robotnik's forces. The teenage fox however seemed oblivious to the battle raging far beneath him both in the air and on the ground, for he was focussing on his mission; to support Sonic's task of plant charges on Robotnik's space station while it was still in the earth's atmosphere and before it was blasted off into space.

The young fox had flown the blue speedster up to Death Egg, evading flack and the enemy fire of Robotnik's balkiries. However, he'd been unable to land on the station due to intense enemy fire and as a result the hedgehog had jumped off to place the charges whilst he had been left in his current position, circling and waiting until Sonic rushed out again. Tails was then planning to fly in close and collect the hedgehog.

It was a daring but risky plan, but they'd both done it in the past and completely trusted one another to succeed. The low speed of the obsolete biplane combined with the kit's top notch flying skills meant it was easier for the blue speedster to jump onto the Tornado then onto one of the G.U.N jets but that didn't mean it was all plain sailing, the fox would had to get his timing just right. So Tails kept his plane as high as possible and waited for the call.

'_Two-Tail, bogey heading out of the sun, looks like he's going to try and bounce you,' _screamed the radio.

'Roger that,' he replied his head scanning the sky, 'Breaking right.' Tails wrestled with the joy stick pulling the plane into a steep dive and rolling it off to the right as the balkiry flew past, cannons blazing. Although a pig to fly in combat, the comparatively low speed Tornado was much more mobile than Robotnik's badnik and after the swift break the fox was able to briefly get behind the Pterodactyl-like machine in the turn. The fox took his moment and gently squeezed the trigger firing the Tornado's machine gun in a short burst.

Dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka.

A burst of flame emerged from the badnik's engine, seconds later it began to roll off lazily to the left and the kit watched the machine explode into pieces.

'Scratch one badnik!' Tails shouted happily.

'_Good shooting kid, now get back up there, conserve fuel and wait for Sonic, we'll do a better job of keeping the bandits away. Over._' The voice over the radio answered.

'Wilco, Green Leader.'

The Vulpine didn't have to return to circuits for long though, a couple of minutes later a radio message got his attention, '_Tails! Do you read me?'_

'Five by Five, Sonic'

'_Charges planted, timers set and I'm getting out of here, Eta 30 seconds.'_

'Roger, coming to pick you up.' The canine pulled the joy stick putting the biplane into a steep dive and rolling it back towards the space station. Carefully, counting down the time in his head the fox flew towards the Death Egg.

_29…28…27…_

To give the plane the extra-boost of speed, he flicked the switch activating the two jet boosters underneath the biplane's wings.

_20… 19… 18..._

Quickly but carefully he lined up the plane, all it took was one false move and the hedgehog would plummet to earth so the timing had to be perfect.

_11…10…9… _

_Steady, almost there, _he told himself as he began his fly past.

_5… 4… 3…_

_Come on Sonic, where are you? _Tails worried as he was beginning to fly underneath the Death Egg's platform that he'd dropped Sonic on earlier.

_2…1…_

As soon as he counted out the last second there was a soft thud as a blue figure dropped onto the centre part of the biplane's upper wing. The impact caused minor turbulence meaning the fox briefly had to wrestle the controls to keep level, but vulpine didn't care. He was beaming from ear to ear with relief for upon the aircraft's wing in a crouching position was the blue speedster himself; the fox's mission had been a success.

'Great flying little buddy,' the azure hedgehog said, winking at the teenager and giving him a thumbs up, 'let's head back to base.'

The smiling fox carefully turned the Tornado back towards base. As the plane pulled away, the sky was rocked by a series of explosions and the flying fox glanced backwards to see the death egg beginning to fall back to earth. The sight was amazing, after all those years,the war was over, _we've won, _he thought. The only noise for a few seconds that could be heard over the radio was the sound of cheers and congratulations from ground units.

There was no time for relaxation and soon Sally's voice boomed over the radio her most authoritative tone to remind everyone, '_Congratulations everybody but we're not done yet, plenty of hostiles are still shooting at us_.'

Tails didn't care however; he was congratulating the hero stood on the plane's wings for ending the war. His complacency meant the vulpine had left the plane flying straight and level for too long, he was a sitting duck.

The Tornado was suddenly rocked by a blast, _Ancient walkers, _the fox thought in sudden panic, 'Hang on Sonic, Flak!' he screamed.

No sooner had he shouted his warning then a second blast buffeted the plane. Tails shouted out again as this time in agony as he felt a force strike his left arm.

'Tails!... Are you ok?' Sonic, who'd dropped into a prone position clinging onto the wing called out in concern.

The canine did not answer for a third blast rocked him, this one brought another sharp stab of pain but this time it was in his head; his vision whited out and his ears rang. It took a few seconds to clear because when Tails opened his eyes Sonic had shuffled himself back across the wing and had placed his hand to the fox's neck checking his pulse. The hedgehog had a distinct look of worry in his eyes which turned briefly into elation when he noticed the canine was conscious again.

'Are you ok Tails?'

The fox wasn't, he was in tremendous pain; he couldn't move his left arm and he was aware of blood streaming from his head. 'Yeah… The blast just stunned me that's all,' Tails replied smiling through gritted teeth to mask the pain.

The hedgehog smiled back, 'I always said you had a thick head, didn't I pixel brain?'

Tails immediately turned his attention back to the plane; the cockpit had a large hole, about the size of Knuckle's fist in the left side through which the fox could clearly see daylight, the glass screen was cracked and covered with a concerning amount of his own blood. Looking out of the cockpit only raised further concerns; the left flap had been partially blasted away and the left wings themselves were missing one of the struts and several cross wires were flailing loosely. Although this damage made the plane harder to fly not impossible, there was something much more alarming, the engine note. The Tornado's engine was struggling to turn. The fuel line, Tails guessed must have been hit, it could fail in a moment and perhaps catch fire, whatever it did the canine concluded they had to get out quickly.

'Sonic… the fuel line's damaged I can't keep her up.'

For once Tails noticed Sonic's usual air of confidence briefly abandoned him and he uneasily looked down towards the ground below as if judging his chances. However, this was masked quickly, the hedgehog looked back at Tails, 'well as long as your able to catch up with me,' giving the fox a wink.

'ok, get ready…' Tails replied, as he single-handedly undid his harness and slowly easing the plane into a roll with his knees. '…NOW!' he shouted as he finally turned the plane over. Sonic let go of the wing and began to free fall, Tails eased himself out of the cockpit, relieved that the tail-fin missed his head on the way out.

'Grab my hands!' he shouted at the plummeting hedgehog. Sonic did as he was told and Tails began to spin his namesakes slowing the decent. However, as soon as the vulpine took the hedgehog's weight on his left arm he shouted out in pain again.

The ground began to grow closer and closer, but Tails wasn't thinking about that, all he could concentrate was the stabbing pain in his left arm. He tried to fight it, to keep going but it was so intense his vision began to tunnel and then it darkened completely and all he was left with were sounds; the wind rushing past and the voice of his very concerned big brother, 'Tails, come on, come back to me.'

Then just like that it was gone, the darkness, the pain but so sadly was the blue hedgehog.

'Sonic!... Sonic!...Sonic!' The fox screamed in fear as he realised what had happened.

No answer came, only the embrace of the ever closing ground.

….

'SONIC!' The canine screamed aloud.

There was no answer, the vulpine was sat bolt upright in his bed, _Just that screwed up dream again_, he lamented, _why do I torment myself with his death, it was 10 years ago._ _Why did I have to be so weak as to let go?_ He looked about him, as usual the night terror had done a number on him; his sheets were soaked with sweat and thoroughly upended.

He looked at the state of the cramped room he called his abode; tatty walls, an old black and white TV set, a mouldy chair, the small camp bed and empty whisky bottles stacked on the bedside table, it was hardly the Savoy. _No wonder I'm alone_, he thought, _no one should have to live in a hole like this_.

The clock on the wall said 05.43. That was a good a time as any to get up. At least this time in the morning he stood a half decent chance of getting enough water pressure for a shower despite the fact he was almost certainly more likely to see a unicorn then have any hot water.

As he was rolling off the bed the adrenalin from the nightmare gave way reminding him of the excesses from the night before. The scotch, used to numb the vulpine's memories had as usual backfired spectacularly making him more miserable than before as now his frustrations were combined with a sore head and a case of gut rot.

After his lukewarm shower, the fox returned to his bed room to dress and get ready for the day. He picked his badge and ID card from the bedside table. The badge itself looked almost identical to a police shield, Miles snorted as he read the words embossed upon the metal: _Order of_ _Zone Runners, from anarchy will come order_. He'd read those words every day for more than 6 years and he'd never once had he believed them.

Originally the Zone Runners had been another underground group set up to resist Robotnik, unlike the Freedom Fighters however, the Zone Runners refused to fight out from one spot and moved all across the zones of Mobius to take the fight to the mad scientist wherever he was weakest.

After Robotnik's fall the Zone Runners changed role; first they focused on retiring Robotnik's surviving mechanics. But after a while they realised that as there was little central order on Mobius, criminals from one part of the planet easily escaped justice through simply absconding to other states. The Zone Runners therefore made it their responsibility to track down and terminate these felons wherever they were in the world, charging a small fee to the government the felon was wanted in for the hassle. In theory they became something of an international police force delegated the authority of judge, jury and executioner to bring order to the world. In practice, however, they were a corrupt organisation of international hit-men who'd target anyone on a trumped up charge if given enough money.

The fox knew all about the shady dealings, after all he'd been working as one for years. He had always been a skilled tactician and fighter which made him a natural hunter. In addition as he'd aged experiences had removed his childish naivety and optimism with a cold misanthropy. The role of taking garbage off the streets for a living suited him but that didn't mean he enjoyed it much.

Now dressed, the melancholic fox opened the blinds giving him a view of Gladiopolis, one of Mobius' few surviving industrial cities. It was neither the grey, dreary weather nor the magnificent eyesore of 20 miles of nothing but iron foundries and smelting works that took his attention. It was a certain window in the opposite block, in the window of the 3rd flat from the right, on the 6th floor hung a wind chime. The wind chime was a signal the fox new only too well. The canine swore, for he had a new target.

…..

**Two points:**

**Is it brave or stupid to kill off a main character in the first 1500 words of your fist fan-story?**

**The second half was hard to write, I dislike long sequences with no dialogue and only a single character. Originally, I'd given Tails a shrewish wife so the scene had dialogue but I disliked her and it left a character I had no clue what to do with for the rest of the story. I then changed her to an unnamed prostitute but that frankly made Tails more of a knob than I wanted so I re-wrote as just Tails and no dialogue which was shorter and more about world creation.**

**I would happily welcome any constructive feedback to help continue this. Please no flames they will be removed.**


	2. One more target

_AN:Thank yout o Serenitatis Cove for my first review and your feedback has been taken on board; I have marked it down to T._

**Chapter 2 'One more target'**

The fox the stared at the wind chime, for some unknown reason he felt an ominous sense of dread about it. For a brief few moments he even contemplated ignoring it, pretending he'd never seen it. But no matter how depressed and anxious he was he knew that was not a sensible position. The Zone Runners don't do second chances, he'd be out of a job, what then? Hunted by them as a traitor? Where would he run? Return to Knothole? Surrender to his other persecutors, let the 'Black Queen' finally get vengeance after all these years? Never! He would carry out the mission, collect the bounty and hire a plumber to finally get a decent shower for once in this sty of a flat.

With the vulpine's mind made up, he walked over to the bedside table and drew out his pistol and placed it into a holster attached to his chest. It was a large 8 and a half inch long barrelled .44 Magnum pistol; cumbersome and unwieldy but it was very effective. Miles smirked thinking how many bounties had surrendered quietly on sight of the thing. As the hand canon was a six shot revolver he always carried a smaller semi-automatic pistol for back up just in case he got into a fire fight but frankly that was a very rare occasion.

With the guns attached to his person he slipped on his old, tatty oilskin duster and placed his fedora onto his head. The outfit was perfect for his job, the coat and hat kept him protected from Gladiopolis' frequent rainstorms but more importantly it kept him inconspicuous. Not being noticed was key to Miles' job; it helped a bounty hunter stalk his prey. Years earlier he'd also taken to dying his fur the darker brown of his youth, but masking his second tail required a more creative solution; the attire helped him in this as few would take a second glance at the random fox in a tatty jacket wearing an old, unstylish hat. Finally he attached his wrist communicator which allowed him to communicate and receive information from his superiors.

He stepped out of his brutalist concreate tenement out onto the streets of Gladiopolis. As usual sky was grey and the rain poured down. Gladiopolis' weather seemed to suit it perfectly, as the centre of Mobius' iron, steel and armaments manufacturing. It was nothing more than 500 square miles of smokestacks, iron foundries, steel mills, chemical plants and armaments factories with vast tower blocks of cheap low quality housing for the poorly paid factory labourers. Before the war, the city had boomed, the city's rivers became polluted and thick smog hung over the city. The war had de-populated it massively but generally the factories were undamaged. After the conflict ended the vast production might of the city was realised as other states on Mobius needed material for rebuilding. Various forces moved in to seize the factories for themselves and the city became a battleground for the workers groups and the militias of their plutocratic rivals.

The result had been a stalemate and an uneasy truce; enough central government had been organised for the basic running of city but not enough to break the dead lock or relieve any social problems. There was a police force but its powers and reach were nominal, private militias and 'red guard' units keeping the peace in the many areas they feared to tread.

As the industry blossomed again, migrants had flocked from surrounding areas creating further tensions, a rocketing crime rate and a thriving black market. But the government was pretty much powerless, the syndicate leaders and the plutocrats both benefitting from the wealth now began to collude to keep it that way.

It was the perfect conditions for the Zone Runners to set up shop. Miles had arrived six years ago and found enough bounty jobs to stay, making him the traditionally nomadic organisation's very first stationary agent. In his time, Miles had cultivating a large underground network; containing hundreds of confidential informants and spies, enough for the Zone Runners' leadership council to send him a full time handler to choose targets. It was this handler Miles had been signalled to meet with the wind chime.

The fox stopped briefly on the way to pick up a couple of the days newspapers before walking into a dreary coffee shop about a mile and a half from his tenement. He sat at a table and began glancing over the papers whilst drinking the piss-poor excuse for coffee the city's poorer district cafés sold.

Miles skimmed the general news reports on the business of the city and foreign affairs. His interest was piqued by an article in what past for the society page it covered a recent celebration held in honour of the power-sharing talks at one of the city's more upmarket establishments, the _Bejewelled Bat_. The fox sneered to himself, _I'll have to pay another visit_, _the owner's always good for scuttlebutt about which leader's going to be purged after something like this_.

After 30 minutes or so he was interrupted by a voice, "morning Agent Double Tail," the fox looked up to see the familiar rabbit he knew and loathed, "you're looking rough as usual, I assume you were rather tired and emotional again last night?" he asked cheerily.

"Go boil your head Jack, whose today's lucky contestant?"

The rabbit smiled for a brief second as if savouring the fox's annoyance before sitting down opposite the fox, "I can't give you the target without any Intel, I don't want to see you hurt," he smiled sweetly, "too badly."

The fox ignored him and took a sip of the cold poor quality coffee next to him, "ergh, I think it's actually getting worse" he muttered to himself.

The rabbit sensing the fox wouldn't bite gave in and opened the messenger bag he carried to reveal a folder which he placed on the table.

"Tell me Double Tail what do you know of the politics of Knothole?"

For a brief second the vulpine flinched on hearing the name of his old home, "I've told you and the council before Jack, I don't do targets from Knothole."

"Why? You know the black queen wants you dead, why treat them as anything but another bounty?"

"I don't care; anyway Zone Runners are banned from Knothole."

"Oh we are, so we only have limited Intel. But from what we do have it seems something is happening, they have agents in the field again."

"Why?" the fox asked only to be met with a curt shrug.

"Whatever it is, it's has got people upset and they've placed a bounty on one of the agents. Apparently they've flipped an agent from Emerald city and encouraged him to handover sensitive data. a request has been made for us to terminate the agents and prevent the handover."

"And I'm taking the Emerald City guy out?" Miles asked hopefully.

"No, he's already dead; an agent neutralized him two days ago. Your target is the Knothole agent."

The fox looked at him angrily, "you know my rules, I don't hit Knothole!" he said raising his voice slightly.

"You'll hit this one. The council ordered it."

"For the walker's sake, the other agent is dead, the handover has been prevented it serves no purpose to target Knothole, your just putting our organisation at risk," Miles argued.

"No, the council marked this termination as a high priority to send a message. You'll do it, that's an order!"

"High priority! Wow, someone bunged the council a lot of money then," the defeated fox sneered. "I remember when we were a police force rather than some rich man's assassination squad!"

"Oh the paid murderer has principles, isn't that nice?" Jack replied. He took a photo from the folder, "your target," he said passing the picture to the fox, "is a purple hedgehog, she's female, in her early to mid-twenties, and goes by the name of Sonja but that's likely to be an alias, that's all the intel we have. Recognise her?"

Miles stared at the photo, it was a bad picture taken at range. Something about her was familiar but he couldn't place it. After a moment he replied, "no I never heard of a Sonja, she in the city yet?"

"She's been here almost 24 hours; the meeting was scheduled for 21:34 this evening at some dive called the 'Laughing Duck' just off 34th street. I suggest you take her out in the moments of panic after she realises the Emerald agent failed to show." On finishing the rabbit stood up from the table and made towards the exit, "Happy hunting Double Tail."

Miles remained seating for a few minutes staring at the picture, _who are you_? He only knew two female hedgehogs, Sonic's mother, who, although she was purple was far too old and Amy, who was the right age but the wrong colour and was not cut out for espionage _Oh well_, he thought, _suppose it makes it easier_.

_AN: Hope you like this part, we have a hunt to coming next. Please review I could really use the pointers._


	3. Chapter 3 Tally-Ho

_AN: Parts of the exposition are in 'flashbacks' set ten years in the past of this story, in these Tails will be called 'Tails'. In the story's main timeline he will be referred to as 'Miles'_

**Chapter 3 'Tally-ho'**

_Who was 'Sonja'? _The fox wondered. This single thought had bothered him the entire day. He'd checked all his usual sources, questioned his informants, even asked the people he usually avoided, those who occasionally did business in Knothole but nobody was aware of her, not even aware that she'd entered the city.

Granted, Miles had avoided Knothole for years and shunned the company of anyone who regularly travelled there so it would have been unlikely that he'd get much information about her background. But not getting a single piece of Intel even about her arrival. That was odd!

There was one person who might know something about her, the canine pondered, but she knew far too much about the fox's own past and she'd place a very high price on any assistance and Miles had very little desire to get into indebted to her just for this job.

As a result he had given up trying to find out anything about her, cut his losses and taken up a watch on the bar which his target was supposed to have a meeting in. The place was a dive. The bar was dark and cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air, the paint of wall was peeling and the carpet was that right kind of grey-brown that could either be stained from much use or have been put in hide them. The Clientele didn't look particularly friendly either.

He sat himself in a dark corner of the bar, out of the way but with a clear view of the door and busied himself so that no one would give him a second glance.

Miles was concerned; it wasn't just this disturbing lack of intel on the target, he'd had that before. No it was the fact that the target was from Knothole. He'd kept himself aloof from his homeland for ten years, kept out of its politics and avoided anyone who knew about it. Now this target was bringing Knothole right to the front of his mind and bringing back disturbing memories regarding his exile.

* * *

**10 Years ago, a few months after the attack on the Death egg.**

The fox could remember nothing. He was aware he was alive but conscious was probably not the correct term. His head felt like it was at sea, occasionally it would lift above the water and he would hear scraps of the world around him, as though he was tuning through the stations on an analogue radio. He'd hear the odd sound, sometimes a voice he could recognise, sometimes little more than that beeping noise.

But just as suddenly it would cease as though the radio station was slightly out range and he would return to the world of darkness. He was unaware how long he was like this for he had no track of time as his mind swam.

"She can't do it!" He heard a familiar male voice shouting angrily, "My son's neither a murderer nor a traitor."

"The girl's grieving Amadeus, she's angry, bitter but I agree with you," a female's voice answered in reply. "But prosecuting high treason is a royal prerogative and if she wants to make a fool of herself with a trial she can if she so wishes. Nothing can happen until he wakes up."

The male voice grunted, "I don't like it, especially that sneaky royal chamberlain, he seems to want to exploit this situation wholeheartedly."

"I understand, I'm angry too but please don't do anything rash,' the female replied. 'Besides if she overreaches I'll make sure the council..."

Again it went away and Tails' head returned to swimming through the darkness, sparing not a conscious thought to the world around him until eventually another female voice became recognisable.

It wasn't just the voice however; he could clearly make out other noises about him, the constant beeping, the sound of movement close by and the soft humming of a fluorescent light. The fox also realised it was no longer dark, he could distinctly make out a light and he also had feeling throughout his body. He did not have the energy to move any of it but he could feel things for the first time. The vulpine had returned to the land of the living.

The women's voice continued to speak and Tail's began to recognise what she was saying, after all he'd read the words regularly. She was reading the pilots notes of the fox's very own Stearman biplane; the Tornado.

Eventually the fox gained the strength to open his eyes, revealing to him a white soulless room.

_It's a hospital_, he thought as he glanced round the room looking at the white walls, bluey-green floor and detected a distinct smell of disinfectant. Using more strength then he'd anticipated he'd need, he moved his eyes to focus on the source of the voice.

In a chair next to him, aside a heart monitor which Tails immediately deduced to be the source of the constant electronic beeping sat a young, pink hedgehog.

The girl was focused on the book and seemed oblivious to the newly conscious fox's slight movements. Tails studied her face, he recognised it instantaneously but it seemed to have changed. Her green eyes were bloodshot, marked with deep bags. Her face was thin and pale, her brow was furrowed with worry. The poor girl looked worn out as though the troubles of the world were pushing down upon her.

"A..Amy?" Tails tried to speak aloud only for it to come out as a whisper due to his weakness which prevented him from continuing.

The pink hedgehog flinched on hearing her name and turned her head in surprise to look at the fox. On sight of his open eyes her face lit up into a beaming smile.

"Oh thank the walkers, Tails, you're awake!" she said embracing the newly conscious fox in a great big hug, "we were all so worried about you."

Tails was barely able to react as she gripped him firmly, "ouch, Amy please you're hurting me…" he whispered after he'd been locked into the hug for much longer then he was comfortable with.

"Sorry" the hedgehog apologised as she released him and pulled away from him to look at his face, "as I said we've all been very worried about you, me, your parents, Bunnie, Rotor and even Antoine have all been taking shifts to sit at your side, I'm so happy you're finally awake."

Tails smiled the best smile he thought he could manage, "I assume I'm in a hospital, but if you don't mind me asking what actually happened?"

Amy was taken aback by this, she gestured at his left arm which was in a cast in a cast, "you don't remember?" Tails inadvertently flinched before he shrugged to suggest he didn't so Amy continued, "don't worry too much Doctors said you suffer some memory loss."

"Oh, then how is everyone? Are Sonic and Sally ok?"

The hedgehog's face suddenly went very pale again and she did not respond for a while before slowly starting again, "Tails, Sonic is…" but before she could finish they were interrupted by the arrival of an albino ferret nurse.

The nurse walked into the room announcing that visiting hours were now over and that Amy would have to leave. The hedgehog looked momentarily relived at the interruption and turned to leave, 'I'll tell you tomorrow, it's a very long story.' Amy smiled, 'No matter what happens remember we're all genuinely glad you're awake.'

Tails had a bad night; he was plagued by a constant dream in which he was falling. The next morning Dr Quack visited. The green duck proceeded to do some memory tests; Tails knew the correct year, but thought it was March instead of November, he knew his home address, where he was, what the name of the kingdom was but he said King Maximillian still ruled rather than Sally, generally it was positive. Understandably the fox seemed to have no knowledge of the period around the event itself but the doctor concluded that this would return with time, he did however flag up serious misgivings over the fox's mental wellbeing as Tails constantly changed the subject whenever the actual reason for him being in hospital was brought up.

This wellbeing was pushed to breaking point just after lunchtime, when suddenly there was a commotion outside the fox's room.

"No Antoine, please don't, he's not well enough yet," Amy's voice shrieked.

"Amy se il vous plaît, ah mean him none of ze arm," a strongly accented voice answered.

"For the walker's sake, he hasn't even seen his parents yet! I won't let you take him."

"ah ave zee orders from Ma Reine, ze fox is to come with us," came the reply, "stands aside se il vous plaît."

For a brief second it was quiet but then there the sound of a crash followed of Amy's cursing, the accented voice spoke again, "Mon Dieu! Ah did not order yous to push her, imbéciles! Apologies mademoiselle."

There was the sound of footsteps continued and the fox watched as Antoine walked over the threshold into the room. The coyote was unchanged apart for his royal blue uniform which seemed to have gained excessive amounts of gold braid on the epaulettes and a few more decorations then Tails remembered it possessing. He was flanked by two large foxhounds wearing matching purple vests. The pair eyed the vulpine menacingly whilst simultaneously blocking Amy's access into the room.

On sight of the awake fox, Antoine smiled and addressed him warmly. "Bonjour mon ami, ah am appy to see zat you are awake," whilst shaking Tail's hand. "ah only wish ah was ere under better circumstances," he added with a touch of regret in his voice.

Before he could continue however he was interrupted by the arrival of agitated Dr Quick, he forced his way into the room past the two foxhounds shouting, "just what is the meaning of you barging in here Major? This is my hospital and I was not informed you were visiting my patient."

Amy took advantage of the confusion to scuttle in after the agitated doctor.

Antoine remained calm, "apologies docteur but ah am under orders," he pulled out a slip of paper his uniform pocket and handed it to the doctor. "ere is ze warrant, ze Fox is to come with us for ze questionings, Ma Reine wants to know all zat 'appended to Sonic."

The duck skimmed the Gallic coyote's orders with a deep sense of foreboding, whatever he did next he was going to regret. They were all present and correct marked with the Queen's seal so he should really let him be taken. However, the fox was not well; less than 24 hours out of a coma, no clear memory of the event, if he was taken he'd be traumatised and no matter what actually happened would probably be coerced under questioning. "May I talk to you outside Major?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.

Antoine nodded and followed him out.

The still groggy Tails was confused; he looked at Amy who had made her way to his bedside, "what's going on? What's Antoine talking about? What's happened Sonic?"

Amy looked very sheepish for a moment, "well, umm, it's hard to explain, but Tails I'm Sorry…" she hesitated a minute thinking how best to word the bad news. "Tails, Sonic's dead," she finally stated rather bluntly.

"What? This is some kind of twisted joke" Tails replied in shock. However, upon seeing Amy's sad face he began to stammer, "h…h…how?" tears formed in his eyes and the young fox began to weep.

Amy bit here lip and replied softly, "we don't know, you were the last person to see him alive. He fell when your plane crashed."

Tails was shell-shocked, the dream made sense; the falling, the shouting. _It's my fault_, he thought, _Why was I so weak?_ He lamented as he quietly began to sob to himself.

Amy gently took hold of his hand, "I'm sorry you had to find out like this," she said but Tails was hardly paying attention, he was mentally beating himself up.,

Amy hugged the distraught fox and tried to be reassuring, "nobody blames you Tails." Amy said calmly. "Sally's tearing herself up about it and become rather…" She hesitated again, "obsessive. She desperately wants you to know what happened at any cost. That's why Antoine has come, to force you to tell her."

Reality dawned on the fox; Sally was so desperate to know what had happened that she'd ordered his arrest. He looked at Amy for a second; she tried to smile her most reassuring smile. "You'll be fine as long as you just explain everything you know."

Tails tried to smile back but couldn't manage it, he wanted to be calmer but he couldn't, all he could do was think was the same, _I am weak, I let Sonic plummet to his death while I survived, _he wanted to scream his guilt but couldn't bring himself to do so while she sat there trying to comfort him, _I am a murder_, _I deserve everything I get_, he rued.

Just then Antoine returned to the room escorted by the two foxhounds, his face looked troubled. Noticing the looks on the anguished look on the fox's face he asked Amy, "you've told him why ah am ere ah take eet?"

The hedgehog nodded.

"d'accord" he nodded and walked over to Tails' bedside. "After conversing with your docteur Tails, ah believe you are not well enough to be taken away right now…"

"Wait, coyote," one of the foxhounds interrupted, "We have orders to take this pipsqueak away with us today and you're not going to stop us because you've got cold feet."

"Non cheins! Ah am ze officer zat has been ordered to take him; you follow my orders, if not vous retourner to the palace immédiatement." An irritated Antoine replied gesturing wildly with his finger for them to get out of the room.

"Listen carrion eater," the foxhound replied, slowly advancing on the major, "We don't take orders from the queen's guard, our master wants him so we take whether you agree or not."

Antoine didn't reply, he was visibly shacking but stood his ground and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword resting in it scabbard and waited for the foxhounds to make their next move.

Before anything could escalate the second of the two fox hounds grabbed the shoulder of his more aggressive partner and shook his head, the pair whispered for a couple of seconds before the more cautious partner walked out the room. The confrontational foxhound gave Antoine and Tails a sharp glare and then turned to follow his partner out.

The coyote sighed, "what was all that about?" Amy asked.

The visibly relieved Antoine shrugged his shoulders, "palace politics". He turned back to Tails bed side, "je suis desole" he said as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

Tails made no attempt to resist but Amy gasped and rose from her chair to try and stop him.

Antoine held out his hand to stop her and continued to talk, "as ah was saying, ah ave spoken to Dr Quack and he has convinced me zat he is not well but ah still ave my orders to arrest ze fox. Ah will make sure he is not taken away until he is better but if ah do not take him somebody else will."

Amy did not look convinced but she was stopped by Tails, "Amy, just let him do his job," as he raised his wrist so that the coyote could easily attach the cuff to the bed.

* * *

**Present day, Gladiopolis**

"What can I get you mac?" a voice asked, shaking the embittered fox out of his daydream.

"What did you say?"

"I said, what can I get you to drink?" the heavily east coast accented waitress answered with a scowl.

"Sorry I was miles away, scotch neat please." The fox replied.

The fox knew he shouldn't drink before a job such as this but he needed to relieve his sense of uneasiness.

"Cheers," he said as the waitress brought him his drink, "how much do I owe you?"

"Credits or something worth the paper it's printed on?"

"Credits."

"You could pay in something actually of some use," the waitress sneered, "six hundred and seventy please."

The vulpine handed her a handful of ugly white bills which made up the city's worthless paper currency, "keep the change" the canine said as the waitress sighed and walked away.

The bar was getting busier but the vulpine made sure he could kept a close eye on the entrance. Eventually the door opening and a new figure walking in. It was the female purple hedgehog he was watching for. She wore a very simple attire of factory workers overalls obviously trying her hardest to look inconspicuous as a worker who had just come off shift in this huge industrial city. As he watched her he was once again got a sense that he recognised her green eyes.

She glanced around the room looking for her contact, as her eyes swept over him the fox he was gripped by sudden anxiety, _what if she recognises me_. However he quickly put this thought out of his mind, he'd dyed his fur and few from Knothole could recognise a fully grown brown fox as the exiled Miles Prower. Whatever the case unable to find who she was looking for she sat down on an out of the way table and began to wait, unaware she was being watched.

As the clock reached nine Miles noticed 'Sonja' becoming increasingly agitated and restless as she realised that her contact was a no-show. Eventually after ten minutes she rose and walked out of the bar.

This was the Zone-runners best chance, she was agitated and might not be thinking clearly, but he had to make the removal clean and quiet, away from any witnesses. He quickly got up and followed her making sure to remain at safe distance to avoid suspicion. His target walked briskly through a number of back streets until she came to a deserted alleyway.

The fox crept into the shadows and watched as she looked around to assess the scene. He watched as the purple hedgehog pulled out from her overall pocket some form of communication device and place it in her ear.

From his hiding place the fox heard 'Sonja's' part of the conversation.

"He was a no show, someone might have intercepted him." She said a distinct note of worry in her voice.

The vulpine saw his chance, he began to creep forwards whilst at the same time using his wrist computer to create a jammer for her transmitter.

As he intended the hedgehog's communicator went dead, for a brief few seconds the hedgehog seemed to panic as she tried to reset the device and re-establish her communication link.

With her distracted the fox took the opportunity to close the gap, removing the large pistol from the holster as he moved forwards to within touching distance of his target.

_This one was easier than I anticipated_, he thought as gently pushed the gun into her back. The hedgehog stiffened and let her arms fall to her sides as she felt the pressure of the barrel between her shoulder blades.

"Sonja Hedgehog, if that is your real name," the canine announced in as stiff a voice as he could muster, "you have been found guilty on the charge of espionage by the Zone Runners council, your sentence is death. Have you any final words to say in your defence?"

There was a pause and for a brief moment Miles was lulled into a false sense of security that the girl had surrendered.

After a pause she responded, "sorry buddy, I'm a very busy girl."

Quick as a flash, faster than the fox was anticipating she drove her elbow into Miles' stomach forcing the air out of him.

"What the-" the vulpine wheezed as he tried to resist, however the liquor had dulled his reactions and before he could act the girl had seized and twisted his wrist forcing him to drop the pistol to the ground without even turning her body to face him.

She then stamped her foot down hard onto his own causing the fox to yell out in pain and bend forwards slightly. As he bent forward she quickly spun herself around and gave the dazed fox a haymaker to the right temple sending him tumbling to the pavement.

"If you have any sense you'll stay down," the girl muttered as to run deeper into the alleyways.

For a couple Miles was to dazed to do anything but as he heard his target break into a run he slowly crawled towards the gun on the floor, picked it up and took aim at the female hedgehog now at the end of the alley.

"Halt!" he shouted about as authoritatively as someone who'd just taken a surprise beating can manage, "I will shoot!" he added as struggled to take aim in his woozy state.

To his surprise the hedgehog stopped, she pulled some form of miniature crossbow out from underneath her overalls. She glanced backwards for a split second and took aim, firing a small bolt that knocked the gun clean out of the fox's hand. Without a second glance at her stricken foe the hedgehog and ran on into the maze of alleyways.

"Walker's be damned," the fox said as he stared aghast at gun lying on the ground, "she's one hell of a shot."

Whoever this 'Sonja' was he going to need to be more prepared next time.

_A/N: Sorry about the delay on this, I've had a hellishly busy 6 weeks which culminated in me losing my original plan for this but I refuse to give up and I've had free time of late so hopefully can write more regularly._

_Please R&amp;R and don't hesitate to contact me as any pointers would much be appreciated._


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Sorry this is so delayed I've not had much access to a computer for a couple of months._

_A special thank you to reviews Narus Felgrand, Nightmaster and Spartan Grey really appreciate it._

**Chapter 4: "Friends"**

The canine picked himself up from the sidewalk, physically unharmed beyond a minor headache and a couple of bruises, although his ego was another story. Miles was kicking himself for his failure. He may have spent ten years looking after himself in exile but deep down he remained a deeply self-conscious fox with a threadbare ego whose confidence would easily rout if things went awry. He'd underestimated the threat, made a fool of himself and now he had to fix it. But first he had to admit his failure to his handler who'd relish his misfortune, _Oh well, better get this over and done with_.

"_Ah Double Tail_" Jack's voice answered as he opened the communication channel, "_Target dealt with?"_

"There's been a situation."

"_You mean she got_ _away from you?_" he said with a distinct note of triumphant jeering audible in his voice, "_She was right within your grasp for Chaos sake_."

The vulpine didn't reply.

"_But then again_ _you always were very good at letting things slip, through those fingers of yours weren't you Double Tail."_

The vulpine gritted his teeth to ignore the barb, he waited a few seconds and sighed, "is this going anywhere or are you trying to bait me?"

He was met by the sound of chuckling laughter, "_ok then foxy how'd you manage to bungle?_"

"Well for starters," the fox replied whilst picking up and holstering his pistol, "she's good, very good, superfast reflexes and a crack shot with a crossbow. She could be one of the Robian's Andys."

The line was quiet for a few moments as his handler considered his idea. It wasn't too stupid, 'Robians' were the remnants of the Robotized Mobians left over from the Robotnik war. Most had been de-robotized but a minority had clung to their master's old ways and opted to continue the war. They'd set up their own state out of Robotropolis and inside their domain they continued their master's experiments, eventually creating better machines, the artificial race of Androids. These Androids, called 'Andy' by the Zone Runners, were to the casual observer like Mobians only faster and stronger. As such they posed a serious threat to Mobius and the Zone Runners had taken up the duty of tracking and terminating them. This 'Sonja' bore many of the hallmarks of an Andy

"_She could be_" came a grudging reply over the communicator, "_but I doubt it. There is no reason Knothole would start employing Andys, the Robians hate them as much they hate us_."

"I agree but I wanted check it out." The fox lied, "I got too close and she fought back."

Again there was the sound of chuckling, "_Double Tail, we've been working together for years._"

"It's been too long" Miles replied tartly.

"_Oh I agree, but what I mean is; I know you._ _You're not stupid enough to get close to an Andy. You got close because she was from Knothole and you wanted to find out if you knew her."_ The hare paused to let his analysis sink in, "_and that is why you ballsed it up. Am I right?_"

The canine did not respond, but he knew Jack was right and it irked him.

"_I'll take your silence as confirmation. Now do you have your head in the game or do I need to call in someone competent to get her?_"

"No, I'll track her, I've an acquaintance with contacts on the black markets, they know everything that comes through this city, if she's hiding somewhere they'll know where."

The fox disconnected the transmitter and walked off into the alley, he had no choice to find her he'd have to get into debt to an acquaintance who'd enjoy tormenting him with a life he couldn't have.

* * *

It was now nearing midnight, peak time for bars to begin chucking out. Those that wanted to continue their night moved onto one of the city's many clubs. One of the more favoured destinations for those searching for hedonistic escapism was the _Bejewelled Bat_, a fairly exclusive venue where an astute customer with the right money could acquire nearly anything to while away the hours of the morning in a debouched excess.

The tired vulpine stood outside the venue, his face buried into his coat to mask the night's cold, doing his best to ignore the drunken club-goers around him. Gradually the line of prospective guests moved forward as those waiting were either let in or sent packing. Eventually the canid found himself at the front of the line facing a large brown bear in a suit.

"Name?" the bear enquired without taking his eyes from the clipboard in his hand.

"Miles Prower"

"Not on the list," the bear answered without batting an eyelid. "Next!" he shouted gesturing for the next entrant.

But Miles was not to be fobbed off so easily. He stood his ground, put his hand on the clipboard pushing it down and looked the bear squarely in the eyes. "Listen mate," he said politely but firmly, "I'm not here to get leathered and fritter my time trying to find a girl to screw, I'm here to speak to the boss."

The bear growled menacingly.

The brown furred fox sighed, reached into his pocket and pulled out two large denomination bills which he gently placed on the clipboard.

"Speak to your boss, give her my name and I guarantee she'll tell you to let me in," the fox added with a slightly cocky smile.

"She's indisposed!" the bear replied rather aggressively, "now get lost pipsqueak or you'll be leaving in a hearse." He said as he gripped the fox's wrist.

"Be careful Paddington," the fox warned as he shook himself free. "You really do not know who you're messing with."

With another growl the bear moved to swing at the little fox. However, Miles was faster than anticipated. Ducking beneath the swing he came up behind the bear and gave him a light tap in the back with his foot to knock the bear off balance. The bear turned to lunge again but the fox was again quicker. With surprising ease, using the bear's momentum against him, he grabbed the bear's wrist and spun it behind the bear's back into an arm lock. With one hand securing the bear's wrist, the fox used his other to grab the bear around the back of the neck locking him in position.

"Now, I'll ask you again, do you want to let me in?"

"Fuck you fox!" the bear snarled.

"That's unfortunately the wrong answer Baloo," the fox grimaced as he used all his strength to drive the bear snout first into the wall with a sickening crunch. His attacker neutralised, the vulpine let go and the bear sunk to the floor making a soft mewling noise.

_What now? _Miles thought as the sound of foot steps behind alerted him to two more bouncers coming to support their co-worker. As the fox turned he withdrew his revolver from its holster and opened his coat to show his zone runners badge.

"Freeze, I'm a zone runner!"

The bouncers; one a large puma and the other a wolf, came to a sudden halt and raised their hands in submission, they had no intention of tangling with the fox who'd just incapacitated their colleague.

"I'm here to see the boss, she in?"

The puma nodded.

"Good, now, are you going to let me see her?"

This time there was no opposition, the fox holstered his pistol and walked past both of the bouncers who were looking down in shock at the whimpering bear.

As he descended the stairs into the club the fox began to shake his head, cursing himself for his short temper. He hadn't meant to hurt the bear, it was just frustration with how the night was turning out and he knew it was unlikely to improve.

The nightclub was multi-layered; the basement was a rather seedy dancefloor. A hot and airless room, perpetually bathed in the smoke from dry ice machines and the condensation from the sweat of hundreds of pulsating revellers, dancing, or more accurately, grinding against one another to the sound of pounding house, illuminated only by flashing strobes. For a shy, anti-social fox this kind of place was close to hell on earth.

However, he would not have to fight his way through the vast inebriated throng. A quick flash of his badge to the coat checker identified him as an agent and he was escorted upstairs into the _Bejewelled Bat_'s executive gambling club. A quiet room of roulette, baccarat and blackjack tables with a number of black leather seats and tables down the side that seemed a world away from the revellers downstairs.

As a staff member went off to inform the manageress, the canid slipped into a booth and began to watch others in the room. They were mostly young men, a couple had women on their arms. All were impeccably dressed, making the fox feel slightly self-conscious of his dishevelled brown oilskin jacket.

After ten minutes, Miles was jarred back to reality by a feminine voice. "Agent Prower?"

The voice caused the vulpine to jump slightly and he turned around quickly to face the source. She was a small, scarlet red furred vixen with auburn coloured, mid length hair and blue eyes. Her accent was distinctly local and she wore a long slender black dress which tightly hugged her figure and Miles found very pleasing to the eye.

"Yes, Uh, Hello miss…?"

'Korsak, Anastasia Korsak,' the vixen replied smiling and extending her long arm towards him in greeting, 'would you like a bit of company?'

"umm" the fox began to mutter as he shook her hand but before had answered, the vixen had parked herself very closely in the seat beside him.

For a couple of seconds Miles was too captivated by her appearance and forwardness to answer. _By Chaos, she almost looks exactly like_… but his rational mind quickly snapped back, _No_, he thought, the newcomer was smaller by a couple of inches then a true vulpine, had a much wider muzzle and, Miles could not help but notice, a less bushy tail. She also lacked pale shading of the fur on her chest.

"The boss is a bit busy I'm afraid. She's sent me down to keep you entertained until she is free."

"Look, I'm just here to talk to your boss, I want some information that's all."

The vixen bit her lip, "As I said honey she's going to be busy for an hour or so." She gave a coy smile and flicked her tail at him provocatively, "why don't you talk to me instead. I was told you liked redheads."

Miles knew what was going on now, _that's a cheap shot even for the bat_ he fumed and gave something of a start, "this Rouge's idea of a joke?"

The expression on the vixen's face turned from coyness to guilt, "I was only following instructions."

Miles shook his head and patted the girl on the shoulder, "Sorry, it's not your fault. I'm flattered but I'd much rather have a quiet word with your boss." The vixen gave one last stare at him, shook her head and gestured to a door way which Miles quickly walked through.

The owner's office was a large spacious rectangular room. The room had a distinct grandiose feel to it, the wall colouring was a rather darker shade of deep red and the ceiling was black. The furniture was rather art-deco inspired either ivory black or golden in colour. The bat herself sat behind a large desk in the middle of the room did not seem to be the least bit concerned about her new arrival. Rather she intently read a few pieces of paper that lay strewn across the desk.

"What kind of idea was that Rouge?" the canid asked angrily.

The bat gave Miles the barest of glances, "I'm sorry about that sir, it was hardly my intention to offend you," she gave a conciliatory gesture with her hands, "I just thought you might like a bit of escapism for a while, to take your mind off things and cheer you up."

_Ha! More like remind me of things, _"Why do you feel I need distraction?"

"Well the fact you incapacitated one of my bouncers. That's usually a sign someone is in a bad mood especially when you consider news that I've heard about what's going on in town?"

_Well she knows then_, the fox concluded, "So what? You decided to get memories of Knothole off my mind with her?" the kit jeered.

The bat gave a shrug, "I honestly thought that would be what you'd prefer. I obviously assumed wrong. _Mea Culpa_, Miles."

The bat rose from her desk and pulled a bottle and a pair of glasses from a cupboard, 'drink?'

The fox waved her away. "Suit yourself," she said as she poured herself a small glass, "you're here about the Knothole girl I assume?"

"Yes,' Miles replied stiffly, 'Who is she and where is she hiding?"

Rouge smiled a smug grin, "sorry been paid to keep her identity secret. I don't betray a customer."

"Oh come on Rouge, after all I've done for you. Who helped you out when G.U.N terminated your services?"

The bat stared at him a moment, a distinct look of bitterness in her eyes, 'I remember you standing aside and letting me stay here Miles, that's all, you actively avoided doing anything that actually helped me when I needed it. So no Miles, I'm not selling out her identity.' The bat gave the vulpine a sly look, "however, I didn't promise to keep where she was in the city when I talked to her a secret."

Miles raised an eyebrow.

"It'll cost you, of course."

"Go on?"

Rouge sucked her teeth, thinking, "umm…four grand."

"Credits?" the vulpine almost laughed, _that's surprisingly cheap!_

"No dear," the smug look was back, "Acorn Crowns."

Miles whistled, that was steeper than he anticipated. He thought about it for a moment, "deal," he said eventually. "But, you'll have to talk to my handler to get the money, where was she?"

"You ever been to those old warehouses by the old river docks?" she enquired almost innocently, "nobody ever keeps anything in those anymore. They're almost the perfect place to lie low if you need too."

The fox nodded his thanks to the bat as he rose to leave. As he got to the door Rouge's voice made him turn, "How much do you know of the situation in Knothole Miles?"

"Not much," the vulpine shrugged, "I usually try and keep out of it. Why"

The bat shook her head, "Because you're about to walk into a whirlpool kid, good luck!"

The canid nodded and left.

_Because you're really going to need it_, she thought as she picked up the phone on her desk.


End file.
